A heavy question faces those of us who seek to know and enjoy God. One of the "benefits" is the Isaiah wake-up call. Do you and I want to look inward, because that is one of the results of looking upward!
Examine with me the Isaiah 6:1-8 challenge.
Isaiah 6:1 NIV In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Do you catch the sequence?
a. See God
b. See self
c. freedom from guilt
d. ministry
Upward, inward, ourward
The key words here? I saw the Lord.
How are you and I doing seeing the Lord? You might ask, “How do we see the Lord?” Through nature. In our discipline of solitude, reading Scripture, praying. We at times see God in the life of another person. Through corporate worship. In pain and joy. Via books. Circumstances.
The most important part of the day is that when our discipline of solitude takes place. When we encounter the Lord. We're in the Bible, digging, wrestling with God. Snuggling into his lap, saying Abba, Papa: "Show me yourself. I want to know you. I want to connect with you. I want to know the power of your resurrection. I want to know that about myself which displeases you."
Our prayer becomes praise as we reflect on God's goodness to us. We spend some time journaling, writing what we're learning. What we're feeling - our pain, our joy.
A christian’s effectiveness in life is directly proportionate to time spent alone with God and His Word.
WE not only see God in our discipline of solitude with Him, but we also observe him in painful situations because "every affliction comes with a message from the heart of God" (Alex Maclaren.) Are we listening for his message? Watchman Nee said "we never learn anything new about God except by adversity."
A question to ask ourselves: has the result of pain made us better or bitter? Is the adversity stimulating appetite for God or is it inspiring a cynical attitude?
So, the first challenge in Isaiah chapter 6 is to look upward, beholding God. Tomorrow we’ll look at the resulting inward gaze.
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